Electrochemical cells can experience thermal events resulting in temperature increases for a cell. These temperature increases can damage a cell and in some cases result in propagation of thermal energy to one or more additional cells. Propagation of thermal energy can damage neighboring cells or other elements in proximity to an electrochemical cell. A drawback of current electrochemical cells and methods for cooling electrochemical cells is that thermal energy propagation may be promoted. In addition, conventional methods for cooling electrochemical cells may be volumetrically and thermally inefficient.
One conventional solution for cooling an electrochemical cell is to include cooling channels within a cooling element, the cooling channels including a fluid exchange to absorb thermal energy. One drawback of this approach can be increased cost for electrochemical cell cooling. Another drawback of conventional devices may be an inability to separate electrochemical cells from other electrochemical cells when a cell has overheated. Further, failure of cooling elements to absorb excessive heat may lead to the return of heat to an electrochemical cell. Cell cooling and detection of faults due to overheating may be necessary to promote safety as overheated cells can ignite or burst. In the particular case of vehicle energy systems, safety of the energy system may be critical, as overheating can lead to loss of vehicle power and potential harm to passengers.
Accordingly, there is a need and desire for a cooling mechanism for electrical chemical cells.